Results tagged “Washington” from Intelligent Travel Blog

The exhibit "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor" opens this Thursday, November 19th, at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC. We weaseled our way into the press preview to get you a sneak peek. But before letting us loose to see Emperor Qin Shihuangdi's lifesized warriors face-to-face, Stanford Professor Emeritus Albert Dien, guest curator of the exhibit, reminisced on his first visit to Xi'an, China, in 1977 to see the warriors who'd been discovered three years before by a local farmer digging a well. In our October Places of a Lifetime issue he relates this moment:

Turning a corner, we came upon the figure of an archer that I hadn't seen in any published literature. It was such a shock to see this startlingly lifelike figure that our hosts insisted I sit and rest awhile. . . [T]his archer seemed so vibrant, almost in motion. . .I simply sat and stared in wonderment--and the wonder has never left me, no matter how often I've returned to Xi'an.

The kneeling archer is here at our headquarters, along with 14 other figures including infantrymen, a chariot driver, two musicians, a well-muscled (albeit headless) strongman, a 700-pound horse, cavalrymen, a seemingly obsequious court official, and a general. Also on display in the 12,000-square-foot, four-themed exhibit space are 100 objects--decorative jade pieces, bronze weapons, coins, a naturalistic crane sculpture, details of the warriors' armor, and roof tiles--including 20 "Level 1" artifacts, those designated as the site's rarest and most important finds.

Brian Jungen is the first living Native American artist to have a solo show at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, and his exhibit, "Strange Comfort" opened this past weekend. Jungen creates art out of recognizable everyday objects, including sports paraphernalia: a suit of armor made of catcher mitts, a skull made from baseball skins, blankets woven from jerseys, and totem poles of stacked golf bags (above). According to this interview on NPR's All Things Considered, Jungen deliberately chooses to make art "from materials belonging to an industry that has claimed names such as The Chiefs, Indians, Redskins and Braves."

"I felt that if these professional sports teams felt that they had every right to use this terminology, then I had every right to exploit their materials for my artwork," Jungen says.

Jungen also draws inspiration from the ritual aspect of American sports.

"Professional sports play a role in society that serves like a ritual and ceremony," he says. "Having experienced that within my own family -- the dancing and drumming that I participate in -- I know how important that is. So I wanted to use that -- use things that people would recognize in their everyday world."

Only a few weeks remain in National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest. Here's a standout from this week's batch of entries, taken by Michael Hansen.

Hansen snapped this photo of David Hanson as he crossed a fallen log beneath trees and fog in Washington's Olympic National Park. For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site. The International Photo Contest ends October 31st, so submit your favorite images in the People, Places, and Nature categories now.

Being in the nation's capital for the Fourth of July is one of those experiences that you never forget. Something about watching the fireworks with the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Capitol as the backdrop is thrilling.

My favorite spot to watch is directly beneath the show. I tell everyone I know to bring a blanket and grab some room underneath the Washington Monument facing the Lincoln Memorial. The fireworks are shot from the reflecting pool so from there you feel every loud "boom" in the bottom of your gut as they're set off. At the same time, music from the National Symphony Orchestra plays over loudspeakers in time with the fireworks display. It's always packed, but there's a buzz of excitement that emanates from the massive crowd, who naturally are all adorned in red, white and blue paraphernalia. The Washington Post put together a great map that shows other places to sit and watch the fireworks.

Everyone has a different place that they think is great, so I asked some of the staff at National Geographic Traveler to share their favorite spot to watch, whether it be in D.C. or elsewhere in the United States.  Read on to get some new ideas for you and your family and friends, and share your own favorite spots in the comments.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote on their favorites. We just put a new batch of images up on our website, and here's one of our favorite picks:

This image, by Alasdair Turner, is of four climbers descending Washington's Mt. Baker in very high wind. Click here to view more images, vote on your favorites, and submit your own photos to our contest.

[World in Focus]

Photographers, get your batteries charged and your memory cards cleared! The cherry blossoms are in peak bloom along the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, we know you're dying to get that perfect shot.

Unfortunately as I gaze out the office window, the sky looks boding and the weatherman has predicted a rather schizophrenic forecast through the weekend. But don't despair, just get down to the National Cherry Blossom Festival now to see the beauty of the trees! Although in my three springs in DC I have yet to really nail the perfect cherry blossom photo, I do keep trying, despite an ongoing battle with the weather and my own hectic schedule!  So check out our complete list of photo tips for getting your perfect cherry blossom photo. Full list after the jump.

Traveler photo intern Jenn Blatty recently happened upon a musical surprise while walking around Washington, D.C.

When we're short on travel time and miles away from the parts of the world that we want to explore, our own hometowns can become the closest access points to new cultures. We normally have to make an extra effort to find their niches of flavor, sight, and sound in our own backyards. But on a recent Sunday afternoon there was no effort required for those of us who happened to be strolling around Dupont Circle, as about 20-30 members of the all-women Batala Percussion Band of Washington D.C. magnetized the crowds with the Afro-Brazilian spirit of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.  They radiated samba-reggae rhythms while they drummed in a performance titled "Global Vigil in Support of the Women of Congo."

The Batala of Washington is the newest member of a much larger Batala family (and the first in the U.S.).  The original Batala band was created in 1997 by Bahia native Giba Goncalves while he was living in Paris. There are now four Batala groups in France, five in the U.K., one in Spain, one in Brazil, and one in Angola. If you think you might be interested in joining the group in D.C. (no musical experience necessary), stop by and watch a rehearsal on a Saturday.  

As a person who finds music to be one of the most powerful ways to experience the essence of a culture, I highly recommend checking out the Batala's performance schedule, especially if Brazil is on your mind for future travels.

Photo: Jenn Blatty

Those of you traveling to our nation's capital in the upcoming months should grab a pencil (or iPhone, BlackBerry, or whatever else you tech-savvy travelers use) and add a trip to see a curvaceous indoor hill constructed of approximately 55,000 sustainably sourced 2x4 wood pieces to your itinerary. Allow me to explain...

Maya Lin's (think the Eleven Minute Line in Wanas, Sweden, or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here in D.C.) new exhibition, Systematic Landscapes, has found a temporary home in the recently renovated Corcoran Gallery of Art. IT got a sneak peak before the exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, March 14. Find out what's in store after the break.

To mark the release of our March issue (now on newsstands), we're celebrating cities over the next few weeks, and we've asked our readers to share what they love most about their towns. We've been overwhelmed by your responses, and don't worry, we're going to try to get to them all!

Still haven't submitted? Here's your chance. We've put together a list of fill-in-the-blank questions that should help get you started and we'd love it if you would copy and paste the list into an email, fill in your answers (as many as you like) and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. Declare your love for that special city in your heart!

Today's featured city-lover is Pam Mandel, of Seattle, Washington. Pam is the author of the witty Nerd's Eye View blog, and when she's not riffing on the Seattle weather, she's dreaming of Hawaii over at WorldHum.
 
Seattle is My City
 
The first place I take a visitor from out of town is Alki Beach to see the view of the skyline from the waterfront.
 
When I crave milkshakes I always go to Luna Park in West Seattle.  
 
To escape the midwinter blues, I head to Pike Place Market. The buzz of activity, the bright colors, and the chatter of the market reminds me why I fell for Seattle in the first place.
 
If I want to see the salmon run I go to the Ballard Fish Ladder.
 
For complete quiet, I can hide away at the Arboretum. Bonus: In fall, the trees are spectacular!
 
If you come to my city, get your picture taken with Noguchi's Black Hole Sun in Volunteer Park.  
 
If you have to order one thing off the menu from Bakery Nouveau it has to be the almond croissant.

Some good news from our colleagues at the Center for Sustainable Destinations came out this week - they've announced a partnership with organizations in Oregon and Washington to create a geotourism project for the Central Cascades region in the Northwest. If you're not familiar with our geotourism projects, here's a quick recap: The CSD works with local partners and the public to identify authentic, sustainable aspects of a region - be it culture, food, shopping, activities, events, or landmarks. Right now, you can log onto the project's website www.thecentralcascades.com, and nominate places that you think best represent the region's character. CSD will then put them all together to create a geotourism mapguide, which are amazingly accurate and helpful maps. (I've used them before and found that I hardly need a guidebook.)

The "Central Cascades" area designated for the map stretches from Mount Rainier National Park to Crater Lake National Park, including communities plus private and public lands in both states. The printed Central Cascades MapGuide will be available in September 2009. A parallel interactive Web site is also being developed, so check out the site now and help others find the best places to visit.

And if you're interested in contributing to other mapguides, Montreal is still taking suggestions through today. CSD also has a complete list of available maps for Guatemala, Rhode Island, Arizona, Vermont, Romania, Norway, Yellowstone, Montana, Appalachia, Peru, Honduras, and Baja, Mexico, many of which are free and available as PDFs online.

Photo: via the Central Cascades site 

National Geographic Traveler wants to see your best shots of Washington, D.C.!  

We're putting together a user-generated photography gallery for our website that we will post in mid-December. We want your shots from all over the city, from the monuments on the Mall to the unique neighborhoods that not all the tourists get to. If you aren't sure what kind of photography we are drawn to, pick up a magazine or wander around our website.  We love real images with great composition and a good sense of place.

To participate, first take a stunning photograph in Washington, D.C., then add your photos to the group pool on our Flickr page, and last, but not least, tag your top five images with the tag: NGTDC.  Please only tag five of your photographs maximum. Oh, and don't forget to add a description so that we know what we are looking at!

The deadline is December 15th, 2008. After that, our photo editor will pick the cream of the crop for our web gallery. You will receive placement on Traveler's website and a year-long subscription to National Geographic Traveler, the world's most widely read travel magazine.   

Photo: by assistant photo editor Krista Rossow.